Posts Tagged ‘Climate Science Legal Defense Fund’

Back in 2011, the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) came together in response to the mounting legal bills of Dr. Michael Mann in protecting his email correspondence. The litigation has been ongoing for the last several years and on Thursday April 17, 2014, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in Dr. Mann’s favor. His emails and the emails that colleagues from around the world included him on will be protected from groups whose only purpose is to distract from legitimate scientific discussions. For more on the ruling see this Washington Post article.

A second reason to celebrate is that through CSLDF’s winter fundraiser, CSLDF has raised enough money to hire its first executive director. CSLDF is proud of the work done by volunteers in their kitchens. CSLDF is prouder that the efforts of its supporters, volunteers and donors have reached a point where there will be a full time position created whose sole charge is to defend scientists. CSLDF is still working on the next steps so please check back for additional updates in the coming weeks.

Joshua Wolfe and I send our deepest thanks to everyone that made both of these reasons to celebrate possible.

So you are having a great time at the AGU Fall Meeting. You are meeting science colleagues from around the world, you are seeing cutting edge research presented in the scientific program, and you are enjoying the sights and sounds of beautiful San Francisco.

Thanks to everyone who has supported our growth and development to date. We have had great successes in our first year and half and we hope to continue to build on those. To continue our programing through the end of the year we need to raise $35,000 this summer and need your help to reach our goal. The money will go to two projects of ours. First, it will retire the debt owed by Dr. Michael Mann for attorney’s fees in the FOIA case over his UVA emails. Read more about the case here and here.

The money will also go towards continuing our program of sending attorneys to scientific meetings. There we offer confidential pro-bono meetings for members of the scientific community. After meeting with an attorney at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference last December, one scientist wrote us:

I was glad to be able to talk to an attorney who deeply cared about the integrity of the science and helping individual scientists. I am very grateful to the CSLDF for arranging for these sessions.

We feel that legal defense does not just include blockbuster cases like Dr. Mann’s, but making sure that scientists have the opportunity to discuss their concerns with a legal expert before an issue becomes a problem.

Please consider adding climate scientists to your holiday gift-giving by making a tax-deductible donation to the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF). Your gift will help CSLDF to continue to educate researchers about their legal rights and responsibilities on issues surrounding their work; serve as a clearinghouse for information related to legal actions taken against scientists; and to recruit and assist lawyers representing these scientists, while also defraying legal fees scientists may incur.

Here is what several noted climate scientists have said about CSLDF:

As a scientist who is on the front lines in the battle to communicate the reality and implications of climate change to the public, I am greatly indebted to the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF). Not only have they helped me in my own legal battles to defend myself from legal attacks by fossil fuel industry front groups, but through their webinars, AGU legal workshops, and greater outreach and communication efforts, they have literally assisted the entire scientific community in its efforts to defend itself from dishonest attacks by vested interests. It is essential that the CSLDF continue to receive the support necessary to continue its work. – Dr. Michael E. Mann, Professor of Meteorology, Director, of Earth System Science Center at The Pennsylvania State University

When I had my emails FOIAed, Scott Mandia was the first person I contacted for advice. Through the CSLDF, he provided advice, support, as well as a network of people to talk to. It would be impossible for me to overstate how grateful I am that Scott and the CSLDF were there. – Dr. Andrew Dessler, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University

CSLDF provided me with information and resources that proved invaluable in dealing with requests for access to my emails under Freedom of Information Act that are rapidly becoming the norm for anyone in the climate science community. I recommend their workshops and webinars to any of my colleagues who are involved in public outreach on climate change. – Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Associate Professor, Director of Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University

Thanks for CSLDFs efforts to educate scientists on legal matters, which are of great value. – Dr. Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at The Pennsylvania State University

Kit was extremely helpful. She answered and explored with me my particular questions, and also helped me develop a much wider view of the overall situation facing climate scientists in terms of how legal issues and defense interact with attempts to discredit climate science. I was glad to be able to talk to an attorney who deeply cared about the integrity of the science and helping individual scientists. I am very grateful to the CSLDF for arranging for these sessions. – Anonymous Scientist from One-on-One Availability with an Attorney at AGU

In addition to directly assisting individual scientists in need, this past year CSLDF coordinated with American Geophysical Union (AGU) to offer three legal education webinars leading up to the AGU 2012 Fall Meeting. At this year’s 2012 Fall Meeting, CSLDF coordinated with AGU to offer three legal education workshops (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), one-on-one availability with an attorney on four separate days, and an exhibit hall booth where information about the CSLDF mission was provided to scientists over a four day period.

So what can you do to help our researchers who are being harassed by these Climate of Doubtmongers? A great way to do so is to support the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF). CSLDF was founded to protect the scientific endeavor by offering legal education resources to climate scientists as well as a “war chest” for scientists who are faced with expensive legal battles. The fossil fuel-funded ideologues have an almost unlimited amount of financial resources so CSLDF can use all the help it can get from concerned citizens and foundations.

In recent years, an increasing number of scientists have found themselves involved in legal discussions about their work, their correspondence, and their public statements. To better prepare the scientific community for these challenges, AGU and CSLDF have put together a legal education program for the scientific community. The goal is to both give a primer on the legal issues facing scientists and update them on legal situations currently making their way through the courts.

The legal education program will start with a series of webinars featuring some of the lawyers on the front lines of climate science litigation. These webinars will be followed by a series of legal education events at AGU’s 2012 Fall Meeting.

As blogged by me and many, many others, Heartland Institute got caught with their pants down when internal documents revealed what we have known for a long time: they are undermining the education of our children.